


Menergy

by MushFund



Series: Songfics [3]
Category: Grand Theft Auto IV, Grand Theft Auto Series (Video Games)
Genre: Abusive Relationships, Clubbing it up whoo, Drinking, Homophobia, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Songfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-11
Updated: 2020-12-11
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:20:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,985
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28003794
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MushFund/pseuds/MushFund
Summary: Reader is lovestruck for a certain Bernie Crane. However, the object of his affection is caught in a terrible relationship with the jerky politician Bryce Dawkins. Drama ensues, of course.Inspired by the song "Menergy" by Patrick Cowley.
Relationships: Bernie Crane/Reader
Series: Songfics [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2011183
Kudos: 2





	Menergy

**Author's Note:**

> Yet another GTA songfic! I'm really hooked on writing these deals! Bernie is one of my all-time favorite GTA characters. He's such a dream guy - handsome and super sweet. Everything he does makes me smile, it's so cute. He deserved way better than Bryce, in my opinion.
> 
> It seemed natural to write a fic for this song, as it's one of my favorites in game and it played while I was driving with Mr. Crane on the "Hating the Haters" mission. The idea just clicked and I ran with it. Special thanks to songlyrics.com for providing the words to this great tune.
> 
> So, as always, thanks for reading, and enjoy! :)

You got up from the bar stool with a sigh, pulling your coat on. It had been yet another long day of work, followed by an equally long night of soulless drinks and pointless conversations. You had been coming to this bar for a couple nights a week, and while you wouldn’t want to admit it, you were hoping to meet someone… special. Sure, romance wasn’t everything, but your life had begun to feel empty. Each Friday or Saturday evening you saw fellows meeting, smiling, romancing, enjoying themselves… and yet, you sat resigned to a corner, nursing your drink of choice for the night and surveying your surroundings. These guys were living their best lives, evidently harboring something you lacked.

_The boys in the barroom  
Living it up  
Shootin' off energy_

Bidding goodnight to the kindly bartender, who knew more about you than you had intended, you began to stroll out, the sky black and the air rushing from each open-and-close of the door feeling quite chilling. Your head low, your vision was soon clouded by purple fabric. Jarred from your moping, you glanced upwards hurriedly, finding you had collided with another bargoer entering the joint. 

Your face flushed as you made eye contact with the stranger - he was a handsome young man, to say the very least. He flashed you a heart-melting smile as you stumbled out into the street. Darn your awkwardness! Cursing yourself, you hailed a taxi and went home for the night, thinking ever so often of the encounter.  
\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
As the days passed, the mystery man gradually faded from your mind. While he was memorable in some ways, you had more important things to focus on - most notably, not getting evicted from your apartment. Money was tight at the moment, but you had fortunately managed to secure a job working on the street slinging hotdogs (well, not literally, of course, that would be a waste of perfectly good sausage). While it wasn’t glamorous, it gave you the opportunity to make some income and interact with a lot of interesting folks, even for a fleeting second. 

After making a few sales, you scanned the streets, hearing a slight commotion approaching. It was a couple, two men, presumably in a heated argument as they strolled about. You felt somewhat jarred as you recognized that they both looked familiar - one was a popular conservative politician by the name of Bryce Dawkins, and his companion none other than the mystery fellow from the bar. What were the chances?

_The guys on the sidewalk  
Workin' it out  
Talkin' 'bout Menergy_

You discreetly listened in on their conversation, too curious to ponder the rude implications of eavesdropping.

“Bernie, I told you not to talk to me in public.”, Bryce spat, “What will people think of me? I’ve got a reputation to uphold here.”

“But, sweetie-” the stranger, presumably named Bernie, attempted to pipe up, only to be met with an evil look from his partner.

“Don’t ‘but sweetie’ me.”, the politician spat, “I can’t be seen with you like this. Leave me alone, you whiny faggot.”

Your heart ached as you watched as Mr. Dawkins sped up, all but running away from poor Bernie. What was he doing with this abusive man? He was a known homophobe, after all. You turned to look at the handsome guy, who appeared sullen, head low. You frowned, mentally debating if you should say something and risk him learning of your blatant nosiness. 

“Hey, haven’t I seen you before?” you blurted out without thinking, instantly chastising yourself. What if he didn’t remember you? He had just been verbally abused, after all!

“You remembered me!”, Bernie’s frown contorted into an adorable grin almost too easily, “I saw you at the bar, huh? A little too closely, hehe.“

“Yep… sorry about my clumsiness.”, you rubbed the back of your neck habitually, “Can I interest you in a dog? On the house, of course.”

“Thank you.”, Bernie seemed appreciative as you placed the sausage upon the bread and handed it to him, to which he took a bite, and then, pausing for dramatic effect beforehand, “You don’t even know the stress that man puts me through.”

“I can only imagine.”, you grimaced, “From what I’ve heard of him, he’s not a nice guy. Seems… uptight. You could do better.”

“You really think so?”, the man seemed to be in disbelief, “But he’s so handsome… and rich! Have you ever seen him on ‘I’m Rich’? His house, and his cars… oh, but he’s terrible, he really is.”

A random man’s grunt of impatience interrupted your reply to Bernie, as you noticed a small line had begun to form behind your new friend. It was about lunch rush, after all.

“I’ve got to get back to work.”, you admitted, “But I had fun chatting with you, uh, Bernie, was it?”

He nodded, finishing up his snack. Your heart began to race. Now was your chance, and you certainly weren’t going to miss it. After all, running into the same cute guy in a place the size of Liberty City? That was a sign, for sure! Either that, or you were somehow teleported into a rom-com. 

“It was very nice to meet you. I’m Y/N, by the way. Uh, how about we talk more tonight? At the same bar?”

“Sounds great, Y/N, sweetie!” Bernie giggled, walking off happily. He was almost too campy to be real. As you served the rest of your customers for the day, you had a stupid dazed grin upon your face. It seemed you were in love!

That evening, you closed up the stand a little bit early, taking all the cash from the day’s sales back home and taking a few moments to freshen up and put on a nice outfit. You were proud of yourself to have the confidence to ask him out, especially in front of all those frustrated customers. You still couldn’t believe you had caught the eye of such a handsome fellow - your heart fluttered at the thought of it. Now you just had to make sure you wouldn’t blow the whole thing. Sure, he was in a relationship, but was it really love if one man was so heavily in the closet and abusive? Bernie seemed so sweet and deserved to be treated better. Slightly nervous, but primarily giddy with excitement, you drove out to your favorite watering hole.

Managing to snag a nice street parking spot, you rolled into the place, looking around for your date. And indeed you spotted him, dressed fancily and sitting in a booth. However, he looked quite distressed, his head in his hands as he stared at the table below him. Concerned, you approached, to which he acknowledged you with a worried grin.

“What’s wrong?” you questioned, taking a seat across from him.

“I’ve heard some rumors that Bryce is coming here tonight!”, he sighed, “I can’t let him see me with another man! He’ll go crazy!”

“Don’t worry about Bryce.”, a brief pang of upset flashed across your visage, “We’re not going to let him ruin our night out.” You reached across the smooth table to take hold of Bernie’s hands. He smiled at this, seeming to lighten up. 

“You’re right. I won’t worry. Now, let’s have fun!” Bernie got up, taking you with him. Sure enough, Bryce hadn’t been in sight! The two of you had some drinks and a bit to eat before agreeing to take a drive over to Hercules for some dancing. Enjoying the music and being close to one another, you hadn’t been so happy in ages! Bernie seemed very thrilled, too, being glad to be himself without having to worry about being seen for once. It was nice for him to be affectionate with another man and have it be reciprocated properly.

_The boys in the back room  
Laughin' it up  
Shootin' off energy_

The hours rolled on with music blaring and the club’s crowd eventually dissipating as the sky turned pink with the sun appearing. You and Bernie were both quite tired from all the festivities, having gotten rather sweaty… dancing was great exercise. Now tuckered out, the two of you made your way out to the street, strolling along happily arm-in-arm… only to find quite a commotion on the nearest block.

_The guys in the street talk checkin' you out  
Talkin' 'bout Menergy_

As people gathered about, murmuring and gasping, with an equal amount of scowls being tossed about, you and Bernie were horrified to see none other than the douchebag politician Bryce himself, staring you two down menacingly. Well, as menacing a stare as was possible for a middle-aged wimp.

“Bernie!”, he snarled, “Who’s this fool? When I heard you were going out with another guy, I thought… certainly not. I mean, I saw him selling hotdogs on the street corner! You’d be even stupider than I thought you were to go with a guy like that.”

Truthfully, you were hurt by Bryce’s comments. You knew Bernie could maybe score a better lad than you, but in the short amount of time you had known him, you had already formed a great affinity with the sweet fellow. Fortunately, your new love didn’t fall for another one of Mr. Dawkins’ tricks this time.

“Bryce, Y/N is better than you were ever to me! He loves me for who I am. You’re just a homophobe who is lying to your wife! I mean, we all know why you kept giving it to her in the ‘fart box’. And by the way, your fancy car you were so proud of… is now in the hands of an associate of mine. Don’t bother looking for it, because he’s probably already wrecked it into a light pole!”

The surrounding crowd began to laugh at his mildly absurd comments. The politician seemed taken aback, as if nobody had ever had the nerve to speak to his face before. Typical.

“How dare you!”, he spat venomously, “You’ve got some nerve, talking like that to me, buddy. This is it. You go off with your silly hot dog boy. I’ll find someone else who’ll appreciate the finer things in life… like me!”

You snorted at Bryce’s bloated words. Bernie had wrapped his arms around you, almost protectively, a motion that you had certainly appreciated. Of equal appreciation was the fact that a Weazel News van had rolled upon the scene. Within an instant, Bryce was surrounded by hungry newshounds and flashing cameras. Looks like his secret was out!

Chuckling at the karmic turn of events, you and Bernie skipped along, far away from the crowds. You two paused at a nearby park, catching your breath after all the excitement.

“That was amazing!”, you rubbed Bernie’s hair affectionately (to which he instantly smoothed it down, although his grin revealed he did perhaps enjoy it), “You really showed him. That was seriously brave of you. I was pretty worried.”

“We have nothing to fear, sweetie.”, your new boyfriend pressed a kiss to your cheek, "It’s time to enjoy our life together! Now we can really have fun!”

You took Bernie in your arms for a decidedly more passionate smooch, the both of you left flushed and panting afterwards.

“I’ve got a few ideas for fun, if you’re up for it.”, you winked, “How about we head back to my place?”

“Sounds like a plan, sweetie.”, Bernie purred, rubbing your shoulders, “Let’s just see if you can keep up… loverboy.”

_The boys in the bedroom  
Lovin' it up  
Shootin' off energy_

As planned, the two of you slunk off to your apartment, winding up cuddling in bed a few hours later. With Bernie asleep on your bare chest, you felt like it couldn’t get any better from here. Now you knew what your life had been missing.

_We all know the feelin'_  
_It's no mystery  
_ _Talkin' 'bout Menergy!_


End file.
